Stakeholder Theory, Article Critique Example

Learning Logs on Searching and Review

In my search for the journals, I employed Google scholar as the search engine. I approached this by using “stake holder theory journals” as keywords. My objectives involved finding available journals on the internet covering the topic. I was also concerned with finding articles that are well researched. My other objective was to find pearly reviewed articles, which are acceptable in research.

Brief summary of the journals

Stakeholder theory, corporate governance, and public management journal by Heath J. and Norman W

This journal covers corporate social responsibility in relation to stakeholder theory. Quoting Milton Friedman, the authors assert as the only social responsibility, the maximizing of profits in business (Heath and Norman 3). The journal gives a clear picture on stakeholder theory by distinguishing it with its several classical alternatives. These alternatives include ontological stakeholder theory, strategic, explanatory, deontic, and managerial stakeholder theories amongst others. Deontic stakeholder theory serves as the focus of the discussion in the journal. Here, the goal is not to explore theory foundations, which asserts that firms possess ethical duty towards stakeholders beyond and above what the law requires. The authors consider the case of a firm, which has assumed obligations that are extra-legal and profit diminishing to some stakeholder groups. Stakeholders are among the shareholders in organizations. It is crucial to note that the relationship existing between managers and shareholders is one associated with agency risks. This helps to shed some light on profitability importance in traditional corporate governance.

The stakeholder theory by Fontaine C., Haarman A. and Schmid S

This journal explains the stakeholder theory ideas. The authors feel that there has been confusion on stakeholder concepts and thus it is crucial to bring them out clearly. A stakeholder refers to an individual or any group, who is affected, or can affect the achievement of the objectives in an organization (Fontaine Haarman and Schmid 4). There is a lack of clarity in the definition of a stakeholder, the character and the purpose of the organization including managers’ role. The authors argue that Freeman, stakeholder concept father changed his stakeholder definition later. The latest definition of Freeman was that stakeholder refers  to groups which are crucial to success and survival of corporations. According to this journal, the main groups that make stakeholders include customers, local communities, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and distributors. Friedman in the year 2006 added to list the public, business partners, future generations, competitors, academics, NGOs, or activists, past generations, trade unions and the public. Stakeholder approach is an extremely crucial tool in strategic management.

The stakeholder theory of the corporation by Donaldson T. and Preston E., L

Stakeholder theory has three aspects; it has an instrumental power, descriptive accuracy, and normative validity. These aspects are mutually supporting one another, and the normative theory base entails the modern property rights theory. Stakeholder theory is descriptive. It gives a description of the corporation. Stakeholder theory is instrumental. It gives a basis to examine connections between stakeholder management practice and the corporate performance goals achievement (Donaldson and Preston 67).

ABS ranking of the journals

The stakeholder theory by Fontaine C, Haarman and Schmid, is the most important of the three journals. This is because it concentrates more on the topic than the rest. It is also a pearly reviewed article. In the ranking, the journal falls under 4, a top journal. The journal that follows is the one by Donaldson and Preston. The journal is also pearly reviewed although it is not as recent as the other two. The journal according to ABS ranking appears under 3, a highly regarded journal. The journal by Heath and Norman falls under 2, a well regarded journal. Although it is a more recent journal than the one by Donaldson, it did not undergo a thorough discussion process as that by Donaldson.

Works Cited

Donaldson, Thomas and Preston E. Lee. “The Stakeholder Theory of the Corporation: Concepts, Evidence, And Implications.” The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1995):65-91. Print.

Fontaine Charles, Haarman Antoine and Schmid Stefan. “The Stakeholder Theory.” Journal Of Business Ethics, (2006): 112-140. Print.

Heath, Joseph, and Norman Wayne. “Stakeholder Theory, Corporate Governance and Public Management.” Journal of Business Ethics 53 (2004): 247-265. Print.